HTML Sandbox

Refreshed 1 July 03 | Various FReepers

[TPartyType]

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Welcome Newcomers!

This Sandbox is devoted to giving you a place to practice basic HTML, and to get some coaching.

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So, first things first:

Go to michigander's [ HTML Bootcamp (Cyber patriot training)] and learn there how to change font color, font size, font face, and the like.
THERE'S A WEALTH OF INFORMATION THERE NOT COVERED HERE (so as to avoid duplication).
Learn there also how to post a link and an image, then come back here to practice.

If you're having problems, folks will drop by occasionally to give you pointers and help you troubleshoot.

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Boring posts are a crime . . .

So practice here first!

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NEWCOMERS TIP: I just reread the FreeRepublic posting guidelines. They're worth a read by all newcomers [click here].

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Following is an excellent previous post by Willie Green

But first, HTML advice from the FreeRepublic help page:

Basic HTML
The Free Republic forum uses standard HTML coding techniques. Use <p> to start new paragraphs. You may use <b> to begin bolding and <center> to center text, but please remember to end these items where appropriate with </b> and/or </center>, etc. If you post links or other advanced coding, be sure to test before posting.

Creating new paragraphs is about the only html that most posters ever need, but if you would like to learn more about html you may use any search engine on the internet to find tutorials. Simply search on "html tutorial". Here are links to a couple tutorials that I found:

• HTML Goodies

• Three Rivers Free-Net Beginning HTML

The Basics

Paragraphs, Line Breaks and Horizontal Lines
A lengthy article or reply can be very tedious to read if it does not contain some very simple HTML formating. Inserting either of the following codes will make your post much more readable:

• <br> is a line break. Text that follows this code will begin on the next line.

• <p> is a paragraph break. Text that follows this code will begin on a new line after skipping a line.

• <hr> is a horizontal rule. It draws a line across the page like this:

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Character Formatting
Simple special effects may be created using Character Formatting Codes. These codes are used in pairs in the format: <?>words to be formatted</?>, where <?> turns the formatting "ON" and </?> turns the formating "OFF".

Please: ALWAYS turn "OFF" the formatting when you use it.

Some commonly used codes of this type are:

• <b> and </b> -- BOLD
• <i> and </i> -- Italic
• <u> and </u> -- Underline
• <blink> and </blink> -- Blink
• <strike> and </strike> -- Strike
• _and -- _Subscript
• ^and -- ^Superscript
• <big> and </big> -- Big text
• <small> and </small> -- Small text

These codes can be "nested" to produce multiple effects at the same time. For instance:

<b><i>Bold and Italic</i></b> produces Bold and Italic

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Links
The method for posting a HTML link is fairly simple. The following format is used:

<a HREF="URL">Link Description</a>

where "URL" is the URL address you want to link to (and you gotta use the double quotes), and Link Description is whatever you want to call your link. For example:

<a HREF="http://www.drudgereport.com/">Link to Drudge</a>

becomes Link to Drudge

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And another from the same previous post:

<FONT COLOR="COLOR">Sample</FONT> produces colorful text.

"COLOR" is often a Hexidecimal Code for whatever Color you want, but color names are also supported.
Examples:

<FONT COLOR="blue">blue text</font> produces blue text

<FONT COLOR="red">red text</font> produces red text

<FONT COLOR="green">green text</font> produces green text

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To: foolproof formatting

Here is an easy way to REMEMBER TO TURN OFF THE FORMATTING.

To be sure I turn off the formatting I TYPE THE "OFF" COMMAND AT THE SAME TIME AS THE "ON" COMMAND.

An example:
I want to respond to a line in a post by another brilliant Freeper.
I type < I >""< /I >< BR>
I then "cut and paste" his remarks between the quotes:
< i>" You are a poopy head "< /I>< BR>
And type my equally brilliant response: "No, you're a poopy head!"
The result:

"You are a poopy head"
No, you're a poopy head!

It's very easy to forget to turn off your formatting!
Yes it is!

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To: ftrader, deport

Actually, the <ul> tag is for a bulleted list and stands for unordered list. The missing part is the list item tag (<li>) Here's an example:

<ul>
<li>List item #1
<li>List item #2
<li>List item #3
</ul>

Would display:

• List item #1
• List item #2
• List item #3

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Finally . . .

Here's the link for [Webmonkey] (a super HTML training site).

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Click here for previous HTML Sandbox thread.

[ChewedGum]

A great way to do that is to use a table:

Hello

Here is how:

<table><td bgcolor="red">Hello</td></table>

*The table may be a little funky to work with though - tables are extremely powerful but also a little tricky...lots of tags to be closed.

More Examples:

This one has a border

Different Border	2 Columns
AND...	2 Rows

Gum

[Diddle E. Squat]

Thanks. I was about to post "uncle".

[ChewedGum]

BTW - if you want to just colorize one word in the middle of a sentence, I'm not really sure how to do that. I know how to do is with a style sheet, but you cannot define your style inside the body of the html document so that rules out doing that when posting on FR. You can do it with a table if you are only interested in colorizing the beginning of the sentence (by playing a align=left in the table tag):

This

is a test.

It doesn't look that good though and it very tricky to do (forgetting the paragraph tag in the prior paragraph will put the after text on the paragraph before the table.)

I tried to use an inline style (a CSS cheat), but cannot get that to work in a FR post either. Sorry!

Gum

[Diddle E. Squat]

Yeah, I've run into all kinds of troubles and found that the solutions in all the other HTML threads do not work anymore, but your table suggestion worked perfectly for what I was trying to do. Thanks again.

[Consort]

<TR> and </TR> missing?

[Consort]

If the versatile <span> tag were allowed here, it would do the same thing and a lot more.

<span style="color:red">This</span> is a test. =

This

is a test.

[Consort]

Oops. "table" equivalent error.

[ChewedGum]

<TR> and </TR> are optional if your table only contains a single row. It is better to use them, I agree, but let's not make things too complicated for newbies.

Gum

[ChewedGum]

And I agree...span would be very useful in the forum. I am curious why it is not supported...any ideas?

Gum

[Consort]

Span used to work here at one time. It must have caused complications.

[tictoc]

test

[tictoc]

Different		backgrounds
and different		font colors

[GOPJ]

bump

[Edit35]

"Testing one two Testing one two"

[putupon]

just trying to figure out why this isn't showing on another thread

[umbagi]

just trying to figure out why this isn't showing on another thread

Maybe the filename -- I believe there's no ".jpg" on your image's name.

You can do exactly what you did, but leave off the extension in the "img" link.

Mo' bettah, though, would be to rename the file with the extension, since it appears to be your own storage it's coming from.

That will make your image appear, and mine "go away" for later viewers (you'll have to Refresh after renaming the file to see it). The added benefit is that the thread where you originally tried will also begin to show the image...

[putupon]

thanks. i'll have to think about this twist. where i'm storing these things is supposed and always up 'till now put them in correct format as far as the .jpg was concerned.

[umbagi]

thanks. i'll have to think about this twist. where i'm storing these things is supposed and always up 'till now put them in correct format as far as the .jpg was concerned.

I don't see the same with this new one -- I can't find it at all.

[putupon]

weird, mine are showing everywhere now. maybe my pics host was down or something.